14 April 2014

Just before 5 a.m. left Springfield (aka “The Tropics”, where the temps yesterday were in the low 80’s).  The three hours of missed beauty sleep will be sorely missed by any who see me in the next few days.  Leaving that early, missed the Washington and Baltimore rush hour traffic entirely and was to mid-town Philadelphia in only 2½ hours, a new record.  Thereafter set the cruise control for 5 mph less than usual (due to the load on the truck) and made it to Fern Lake in 8¾ hours (aka “The Tropics”, where it was a breezy 80°F).  There is still ice on the south end of the lake, so, tempting as the waters looked, decided to forego a swim. Twenty minutes after arriving, having just removed the blue tarp from Dolores, heard a loud crash right behind me.  After returning to Earth, found that the dead tree immediately behind the RV had blown over, fortunately not on either me or Dolores.  Dolores must have been sufficiently startled that she started with the first turn of the key.  Lots of signs that mice had visited over the winter but, myth confirmed, not in any of the places where I had put out fabric softener dryer sheets (Spring Scent variety).  Most notably, there was NO nest in the oven… or anywhere else that I’ve yet found.  However, I did swat the first mosquito of the season, which is NOT a good sign!  Spent the rest of the day and evening emptying the truck and stowing all that “stuff” away.  Remembered to call and wish Alex’s voicemail a Happy Birthday!  A semi-cool Beck’s Dark slid down real easy for dinner.